impact on people who receive assistance from the department of housing and urban development. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" is next. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ host: the reverend martin luther king jr. would've turned 90 this year and today marks the federal holiday to honor his work in civil rights. we are looking at the mlk monument in washington, d.c. several organizations across the united states using today to perform days of service in various places. some activities curtailed because of the partial federal shutdown. it's the "washington journal" for january the 21st, the 31st day of the partial federal shutdown. many democrats rejected

president trump's offer of protections.a in our first hour this morning, your reaction on the offer made by the president and the reaction is getting from congress. 202-748-8000 for democrat. 202-748-8001 for republican. independents, 202-748-8002. you can follow us on twitter. you can post @cspanwj and you can always post on our facebook page and leave comments there at facebook.com/cspan. you might notice we are not in our usual studio because of events from yesterday that took lace just about the time of this program on sunday. an electrical fire broke out at the building that houses our studios. if you follow steve kallick -- followed steve scully yesterday, he explained what was going on.

sorry, viewers, and electrical fire. extensive smoke and water damage . c-span had to evacuate as well as fox news out of the building. in light of yesterday, everyone was safe. it is an electrical fire coming from the eighth floor and there is a picture describing what is going on. that is at the msnbc studios and another tweet, this is the activity that happened at this building. it forced the cancellation of our program. we apologize for that. thank you for the concerns you showed on twitter and elsewhere. because of that, we are going to bring you the question we originally planned from yesterday. this is the extensions offer from the president he made on saturday concerning the shutdown and here is some of the elements of that offer. it was for $5.7 billion, which would include a steel barrier.

800 million dollars for humanitarian assistance and new temporary housing, $782 million andire 2700 border agents $563 million to support the immigration court system. of those proposals made by the president on saturday. we will show you some of the reaction it was getting on capitol hill. in this first hour, we are going to get your reaction to the reaction from congress. you can call on the phone lines or post on twitter @cspanwj and you can also post on our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan. we will start this morning with aj in north carolina. good morning. what do you think of the offer and the response? caller: good morning. first of all, i am glad you guys didn't suffer any injuries with

the fire and i hope everything gets cleared up pretty soon. host: thanks for that. caller: i am -- i have a different perspective. i think it is good the president made an offer because he has shown he is willing to negotiate, willing to listen to everybody and take input from everybody and try and come to a conclusion or solution to this. thisa legal immigrant to country. i emigrated 45 years ago from the caribbean, all right? i did not sneak into this country. it really irritates me that people think it is ok that they want to be part of this country but the first thing they do is they break the law. that is not cool. of other thing i see is he has made an offer to give the people

who are here illegally some reprieve, some kind of certainty for three years in exchange for border security, which is to say -- to make sure there is something that is going to impede the progress of the people who want to break the laws to come into the country. you cannot say you want border security, but you don't want to put up anything as a form of a barrier to stop people from running into the country whenever they want to. in northt is aj carolina. in florida, democrats line. fran, hello. caller: as far as this offer he is talking about claiming it to be a negotiation, for someone who talks about making deals, he knows a negotiation has everyone at the table talking about it, not some backroom deal where he and his cronies or his lackeys

get together to put something together to present to the other side. also, it's all about his bogus and a realhe border crisis now of his shutdown of the government. that is the crisis. the crisis he manufactured and can eliminate and mitch mcconnell could do it, too, if he would put the house bill to senate like hee wants to do thou trump's. host: this is some of the reaction from our facebook and twitter feeds. to the point of the last caller, this is jennifer off facebook saying when it comes to the deal, no call to vote, mitch. kim says notebook, happy about it, but it is a

start and lester saying it is the last best deal out there. that is some of the social media reaction to what was going on. some of the congressional action took place on the sunday shows. mark warner is the ranking member of the senate intelligence committee. the democrats from virginia asked about the president offer. [video clip] bethis thursday, there will a second pay period without a check and then the beginning of the month with all the bills coming due. the fact that we are going to pay our federal employees back pay, let's pay on thursday so they don't have to go through more angst. >> you can keep the government shutdown and give them pay? you think you can give them paid? >> we tried to have discussions at least getting them paid would be something. what the president proposed yesterday, increasing border security, looking at tps and the dreamers, i will use that as a

starting point, but you have to start by opening the government. i have had republicans as well recognize this. we cannot reward the kind of behavior of hostage taking. if the president can arbitrarily shutdown the government now, he will do it time and again. gdp is already greater than the money he is asking for. at what point is it not worth it? >> going into negotiations, i am all for increasing border security host:. that was senator warner from yesterday. it back to your calls about the offer and your reaction to it. caller: greta asked a congressman a couple days ago what would he be willing to do to open the government and she could not get a straight answer. he would not answer her question. he said we have got to open the government first before we

negotiate. they keep asking those questions to the democrats and nobody will give a straight answer and nobody keeps hounding them for a straight answer. host: now that there is an offer on the table, what do you think of it? caller: it is negotiating and it is an offer. they can open the government for they could get everybody paid with an agreement they would continue to work and negotiate every day and stay in business until they come out with a negotiation to fully fund the government. in october, and 8 months, they are going to start this all over again. how they come up and negotiate this will affect tens of millions of us retired veterans, the military and everybody in october. host: leroy in maryland, democrats line. go ahead. caller: the offer the president

put on the table to me is worthless because he is the one that took away daca and everything else. something that he broke, he wants us to give him the money to fix something he broke. that is like you coming into my house and breaking something and saying i will fix it, but you have to give me that -- this amount of money. that is idiotic. that is stupid. host: the washington post lead editorial talks about the offer from the reaction -- from the president and the reaction. the editors write mr. trump's offer should be welcomed, but not accepted as the final word. there should be room to talk about the amount of money, how border security will be defined what theird and legal status will be and how long. refuse to even talk about the government reopens does no favors to sidelined federal

workers and contractors adding it is a member -- shrug off the inevitable attacks from terrorist if it means rescuing the lives of thousands of deserving people living among us. those thoughts made by the editors of the washington post and you can read them online. line.s next, republican caller: good morning, pedro. host: i think he hung up on us. let's go to buffalo, new york. caller: i just want to say i believe trump put an offer on the table. it may not be perfect, but i think the two sides have to sit down and hash this out great i think pelosi is intent on holding things up because she wants to bring down the president. i think they all need to grow up, sit down, lock the door, and sit in that room until they come to a decision. host: do you think that is

actually going to happen? caller: absolutely not. host: why not, do you think? caller: i think the losey is too too dugnd -- pelosi is in. i think temporary should be extended from three years to maybe five years. if a kid goes to college as a freshman and gets the three year extension, he only goes until he is a junior. why start? i think they have to give them enough time. what i would do, these dreamers came when they were kids and had no choice. forget the argument about that, give them a pass to citizenship because they are not going anywhere. let's get that over with. from buffalo talked about the back-and-forth between republicans and democrats. this is some of the back-and-forth that took place on twitter. the president writing nancy pelosi behaved so irrationally

and gone so far to the left she has officially become a radical democrat. she is so petrified of the left that she has lost control. cleanup the streets in san francisco, they are disgusting. nancy pelosi responding saying that 800,000 americans are going without pay. reopen the government, let the workers get their paychecks and then we can discuss how the -- how we can come together to protect the border. that is some of the twitter reaction. off our twitter feed, jodi says the daca protection is for a year, the wall is forever. no deal, open the government and then negotiate and gina saying their parents created it -- i think that is a reference to thedaca program itself. you can also go to our facebook page. in jacksonville, florida,

deborah, you are next up. caller: i would like to know about when dick durbin and senator lindsey graham offered the president $25 billion for the wall for the daca deal. why didn't he take that deal then? host: what about the offer now? caller: i don't like the deal now because he is only doing -- doing a temporary fix. he is the one that took it away from them. it is a no starter, no-brainer. host: as far as democrats, you would say don't take this? what would you advise? caller: no, don't take it. he is holding people hostage for something he wants. he is acting like a child. that's not fair to hold people hostage. he is not getting anything done by holding people hostage. from ohio, republican line. caller: hello.

host: you are on, go ahead. caller: okay. my grandmotherl, was an immigrant in 1920 something. when she stepped off the ship from italy, she went to ellis island. saidad to sign a book that she was a guest in our country when she did this, she entered ellis island and had to wait for a sponsor to come get her. she had legal papers to come to this country. many of these daca people came over the border illegally, but their children now speak english, they were raised in our schools, they have our jobs. part of the deal, i agree they why can theyp, but not walk to a federal building

or takefor a green card a test because they can speak english? then the rules in that area so it is easier that -- easier for them to become a united states citizen, all right? host: that is joyce in ohio. to the washington post highlighting some of the shutdown, particularly when it comes to airline travel and the work of tsa. this is ashley and michael saying the number of unscheduled absences was 8% nationally and that compares with 3% a year ago as the tsa concluded that many of its workers could not -- no longer handle the financial hardship of working without pay during the government shutdown saying the agency said the stress was being felt at checkpoint lanes in new york, atlanta, chicago, and miami. the last paragraph of this story highlights this saying despite

the record number of no-shows among tsa checkpoint agents on saturday, the tsa said virtually all the 1.6 million passengers screened past through the 30 minute standard and that almost 94% were cleared 15 minutes or less. that story also in the washington post. let's hear from norman in south carolina. caller: how are you doing? host: fine, thank you. hower: i am just bewildered one man whether it be president or not can shut down the government without there being some recourse by our government. the process is so obviously wrong to be able to say i want this whether it be abortion or some different type of tax bracket and to be able to hold hostage as everybody says a

whole group of people -- our people in respect to not getting what he wants. is there anything that could happen if this were to last another week, month? something where the government can take action? caller: now that the president has laid out specifics, what do you think the role of congressional democrats should be? caller: i definitely agree with the last speaker that said if they buckle on this, then trump would continue to say now i want this. i want $8 billion for this. you cannot give in to this. congress should be able to override him and put him in his place. host: that is from south carolina, norman. david is up next in texas, democrats line. good morning. caller: yes, how are you? instead of building one wall in

four states, they should build four walls in kansas, leavenworth. host: the deal that was offered from the president, what do you think of that? caller: i think it is extortion. host: why is that? caller: when you are in an official position and ask for funds, money -- that is the definition of extortion. host: one of the people on the sunday shows was jim lankford, republican from oklahoma talked and was asked about the president's offer and what he thought about it and what it could mean going forward. here is the -- some of that exchange. [video clip] >> the president is saying -- let's take the daca issue and give them three years and for the first time ever, legislative approval. let's actually put it through congress and take it past the next presidential election.

it is no longer the "leverage" point. they did the same thing for those in temporary protected status. that is hundreds of thousands of people that would get an extension of what they already have. it is a big deal to be able to put out there. the conversation about what happened last february saying fore was fall on daca individuals to get citizenship for a while, that was 25 billion dollars in border security for long-term protections for those in daca. the president said we can talk about that another time, but let's get the government open and get what we can get resolved, resolved. host: we are talking about the president's offer he made on saturday when it comes to a way forward as he sees it to reopen the government, a means of providing funding for his border effort, temporary protections for daca recipients.

we are getting your reaction in our first hour of the program. you can post on our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan. our twitter feed @cspanwj. you can also follow the efforts as it plays out on capitol hill this week we knew go to c-span.org, the house and senate both expected to be in. they were expected to be out for the king holiday and now they will come back in some type of effort -- whatever that might be, goes forward. new mexico is next, republican line. david, hello. i think nancy pelosi is really going to the far left and she wants big government. we don't want to government. we don't and you want to tell us what to do and what to wear and what to drive. trump is doing very good.

i really love trump because he is a patriot. about the daca, i think he should go further investigating each member. even though they grew up here as children, what -- who knows what kind of lifestyle their parents were living when they came here. drugs, smuggling, whatever. we don't know. a total investigation on every single one of the members to find out and see who they really are. host: that is david from new mexico. rollcall talks about the follow-up that took place after the saturday announcement. trump raises possibility of amnesty, a move that could infuriate his base. on sunday president trump raised the possibility of amnesty for hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants who came to the u.s. as children. the announcement comes a day after the far right groups -- he proposed as a way out of the partial government shutdown.

"amnesty is not a part of my offer. it's a three year extension of daca." the president tweeted in response is the proposal saturday afternoon. amnesty will only be used in a much bigger deal whether on immigration or something else. more of that reaction particularly from some congressional republicans and members of his base is available at roll call. roll call.com if you want to see that story. in san bernardino, california. independent line. host: good morning. --caller: good morning. in thinking of what the newident has said with his ofl, i think it is kind illogical, you could say, that the president is giving forth daca as leverage with emma kratz

so he can get a new deal. the way i think that is because daca was something he rescinded. if he is rescinding and giving back what he already took away, that is showing he is not really putting forth a good deal for democrats because democrats know that three years is not enough time for recipients. if this plan -- if people were to agree on his plan, that would not be a soluble solution for or for for the president the shutdown in the government because that would just end in a more that are stalemate then had been before that. host: what do you think is the solution? i think that if the

president really wants to make a ,ompromise with the democrats he really has to give something up of his worth. something he really wanted to take because that will show democrats and the other side of the aisle he wants this wall so much. that will give him enough credibility with the democrats saying if he is giving us this important thing he was fervently against. host: are you saying something would be dropped the dollar figure he is looking for for border security? caller: not essentially because that wouldto drop, give an answer for the democrats areuse that could mean we funding border security. we are funding this even though

they are not necessarily fund the border wall. what i was trying to go at is probably the president will have to give up something he really -- in his base, does fervently support because that will show by giving something he really wants, that is showing he is trying to compromise, which will give him the bigger upper because that will show he wants to finish this whole shutdown bringing many people out of a job and that would make him look like he is the bigger person, the bigger man in the whole solution because not only will he come out the better person in his side and his rally will come out the bigger man, it would show the democrats that he was not the democrats, but the opinion of the chemical -- president will change. host: let's go to detroit,

michigan. it democrats line. caller: a couple of things really quickly. this thing can be solved by these guys going back to the table and negotiating like we pay these guys for. no one thinks what they think, decide what is best for the country. you lost the house, go and negotiate. host: you are saying the plan is to start negotiating -- caller: this is a nonstarter. open the government up first and from that point, you negotiate. anybody would tell law enforcement, we don't negotiate with terrorists. if obama had done this, it would have been over a long time ago. not for this country. he is a putin puppet.

in michigan. al the washington times highlights the give-and-take as they see it when it comes to these negotiations. when it comes to they give, it would restart of the obama era deferred action for childhood arrivals program onto the fall color of law. the grant renewed protection to about 300,000 people that could use -- lose humanitarian benefits and the restart of the central american minors refugee program to allow children in traumatic situations, central america, to apply from -- for asylum from home. theould add officers to port of entry, install better technology at ports of entry and make additional immigration judges available to process claims and cut into the 800,000 case backlog potentially speeding up deportation and when it comes to the ask for the president, $5.7 billion for about 230 miles for new and barriers --border

exploited loopholes to gain a foothold and it would increase the number of border patrol agents. that is what we are talking to you about in this first half hour we have done. the next half hour will be the same. the reaction is is getting from president -- it is getting from president hill as both sides take on -- california, good morning, republican line. caller: i have lived in orange county my whole life and i shutdown.ump on the and release.o add cities andctuary everything democrats are against, the walls are private property.

we have a bullet train going in --ocrats spent 11 billion $11 million on jerry brown and nancy pelosi support. host: you said you support the president. that means you support the offer as it stands? caller: i would add no catch and release because these people get in here for 22 days or whatever and get released anyway. host: are you ok with temporary daca protections? caller: i have no problem with that. all these people coming in, the next wave of people, they have no money, no insurance. our insurance in california is out the window that we have to pay ourselves. thehomeless population is largest in the united states. what are we doing? we cannot take care of ourselves? .ost: that is a in californial to the president upon so own

response to what he wants to do when it comes to daca, we will show you what he said saturday concerning that. [video clip] >> in order to build the trust and goodwill necessary to begin real immigration reform, there are two more elements to my plan. number one is three years of legislative relief for 700,000 daca recipients brought here unlawfully by their parents at a young age many years ago. this extension will give them access to work permits, social security numbers, and protection from deportation, most importantly. secondly, our proposal provides a three year of temporary protected status or tps. 300 thousandat immigrants whose protected status is facing expiration will now have three more years of

certainty so congress can work on a larger immigration deal, which everybody wants. republicans and democrats. our farmers and vineyards will not be affected because lawful and regulated entry into our country will be easy and consistent. host: it is day 31 of the partial government shutdown and we are talking about elements and trying to reopen the government. you heard from president trump. all of this takes place on the anniversary of the holiday which marks the reverend dr. martin luther king jr.. later in the program, we will talk about the state of race relations in the next hour of our program. several activities take place to honor dr. king. days of service. some of those have been curtailed because of the shutdown. most scheduled to take place across the united date and as we show you that, we will go to our

next call on this offer from the president and the reactions from congress. don from mississippi. hello. toler: i just wanted straighten out a couple of things. the 80,000 federal workers that are furloughed, they get unemployment. the media and everybody else doesn't seem to want to bring that to a point. they still get a little bit of money coming in. they can qualify for and to solve this border wall, i am right on with the president, he has got to stick his ground. democrats, i have seen nothing but negativity for the last 10, 20 years. two yearsd about daca

ago. every day it was on that they wanted daca. kavanaugh andas how the democrats jumped that meeting from the get-go and did you ever notice after he got done with the fbi and found out he was good to go? when he got sworn in on a monday, i never heard one thing from the media after that. host: the washington times this morning highlights the work congressional democrats plan to do as they come back today. this will start tomorrow saying house democrats are planning to vote on a package of bills designed to approve president trump's -- proved president trump's demand for the border wall is the only -- negotiated deals on every outstanding 2019 spending bill except for homeland security.

democrats said these bills could have passed last year while the gop was in control of both chambers had the border wall fight not derailed action and cast them as a way to delay shutdown negotiations and open up parts of the government. the president must sign these to reopen government and stop holding the american people hostage with a senseless shutdown. that was from nancy pelosi. from our twitter feed. a viewer says whether or not it is a good deal, it is the start of ernest negotiations. i was from twitter. brian from facebook says where is the democrats counter offer and that is some of the postings this morning from facebook, our twitter feed, and our calls if you want to make your thoughts known. from pennsylvania, democrats line. eddie is next. caller: hey, how are you doing?

host: fine, go ahead. caller: what i don't understand is why are we falling for this con? this is an open faced con going start,use from the mexico was supposed to pay for that wall. me, myself, who did not vote for payp, i did not say i would for this wall. host: when it comes to the current deal on the table, what is wrong with it? using theump is dreamers. he is throwing them out and he can take them back. if anything should happen, the government should open first, the government should be open first.

trump said he was going to take the hit for this and i don't understand how we, the people, are falling for this con. host: if the president were to reopen the government, congressional democrats would continue this conversation or would it stop? caller: we should not even be having a conversation about anything with the government being shut down. host: let's hear from scout in long beach, new jersey. caller: hi. think -- democrats are saying the government must be reopen. i think they are going absolutely crazy over here. democrats are blaming republicans for something we didn't do. host: one of the democrats beaking early dust should jesting -- speaking early,

suggesting open up the government and then we can have a civil discussion and come up with solutions. it was the president who single-handedly took away daca in the first place. of -- offering protections back in exchange for the wall is not a compromise but more hostage taking. .his is hilda hilda calls us from michigan. hello. caller: hey, pedro. i love you guys. i am kind of nervous. you know what i have not heard anybody talk about? number one, i keep forgetting was takenaca program away. i would like to know what happened to all these moneys? i never hear anyone to talk about right at the stop for them to even get in the daca program, there are all kinds of fees involved read my son-in-law

passed away a little over a year ago. they had paid a few thousand dollars. dacahad invested in the program. go too much you further, about this offer using daca as a part of the president's offer, what do you think about that strategy? caller: what about mentioning the moneys and may be when someone passes away in the senate or they end up doing something to break the law in the program, i think it can be as simple as -- they get deported. at least give them their money back. real quick. i don't know if this is true or not. don't just believe people. i have seen nothing on c-span although i called the office and asked for a segment on it. that the excel plant

irs, jose had a fake name. aost: abc news reporting kamal harris announcing she will run for president in 2020. the announcement was made on good morning america comes after months of speculation surrounding the democrat, a rising star elected california's junior senator after two terms as state attorney general "i love my country." of responsibility to stand up and fight. it puts harris in a position to become the first woman and a woman of color to ascend to the nation's highest office. that announcement made on good

morning america and i am sure there will be stories there as 2020 is going to be part of a conversation not too long before now on a regular basis. from silver spring, maryland, this is james. caller: hello. am i on? host: you are. go ahead. caller: as i understand normal american government, not government under trump, the house passes a bill to appropriate the government's money. the senate considers the bill, modifies it, they make a combination and send it to the president. the president, instead, has got mitch mcconnell to shut down the -- is and he isn't negotiating as though he were the senate. it is absurd. he wants to be dictator so he continually acts like a

dictator. i am terrified if he keeps it up and these crazy people who call in thinking he is some wonder that we- wunderkind will lose our democracy and there will be no more elections. host: kiersten gillibrand the topic of a story out of the times in new york saying it was her appearance on a national news program sunday as part of her first push to introduce herself in a crowded field of presidential democratic candidates and often found herself on the defensive over previous political views. the host highlighted messages on her 2008 campaign website for her u.s. house of representatives seat as well as campaign literature that noted her opposition to granting amnesty -- gillibrand described the's view "racist."tion gillibrand answered her views

"were not empathetic and not kind." website houses the paper. you can find more of that paper. in new jersey, republican line. goodr: could morning -- morning, pedro. as far as daca. when they were negotiating about the wall before, democrats wanted 800,000 to be taken care of and trump offered $1.8 million at that point when he did that. i remember president obama shutting down the government when he was trying to get the affordable care act taken care of. the bottom line is democrats don't want a wall. pelosi was going to head out of town for another week. if democrats were so concerned

about these people being out of work, why would she leave the country for seven days? keep the last ditch to people at the bottom rung of the ladder unemployed and the wages low. the only people illegals hurt our working-class people that are lower rung. since trump has given them unemployment and raised their wages, it is the last opportunity for democrats to keep folks like that enslaved and keep them living in poverty. host: some of the activity taking place in the senate -- this deals with the topic of drug prices. legislation sponsored by the senate finance committee chairman and democratic senator amy klobuchar would allow people to buy prescription drugs from approved pharmacies in canada. the bill is reigniting the long simmering debate about drug

importation. a proposal opposed by the powerful pharmaceutical lobby and despite senator grassley's support, the measure faces an uphill battle in the senate where the iowa republican sot to make inroads with -- skeptical republicans. intense pressure on drug companies over escalating prices could tip the scales. the new house democratic majority made rising prescription drug costs a pillar of their platform to put pressure on the senate to act especially if they have senator grassley as a powerful ally. from west palm beach, florida, independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i agree with what trump is doing even though we can all question his motivations. i agree because i have worked for an immigration attorney for over 15 years as a paralegal and we specialized in family-based

immigration law. i had to leave the job. i came to a point where i got very frustrated. i saw a lot ofas injustices. i feel bad for the dhaka d --aca -- daca kids. i just feel like the biggest issue is when you give some kind of amnesty or deferred inspection to people who are currently deportable under the laws, itmmigration causes a ripple effect of misinformation especially amongst the smugglers who take advantage of people in central america and other countries and make them think they are eligible for something they are not eligible for. host: we saw back-and-forth negotiations last week over the

united states and china over trade issues. if you go to the ask es website, a story taking a look at the state of china's economy. this report saying it has grown at the slowest pace in 28 years. that full-year economic growth came at 6.6%. that is slower than the six point 8% rate in 2017 it was forecast by economists. in the final quarter of the year to 6.5% in% compared the prior quarter. they always have a section on why it matters and they say tariffs have taken a toll on the china's economy -- chinese economy. there were signs of a slow. of the week gdp numbers solidifies clues we have seen in recent months. per the retail sales report --eased sunday, the top

topped expectations, the chinese consumer is holding up for now. arizona.r from ron in caller: good morning. on that daca, i believe they should be given total amnesty. these young people, these are the type of people that have educated themselves and elevated themselves to another level that is most admirable and they should be given total amnesty. that way we can get rid of the element of the issue. host: you don't think that will play out amongst republicans? caller: of course it will. we have to start somewhere and i think that is what we can eliminate off the negotiating table. host: you are breaking up a little, ron, i apologize. let's go to randy in wisconsin on our republican line. caller: nice to talk to you again. let's wrap this up into one big deal.

president trump made a lot of campaign promises and he is sticking to them. it is one of build the wall regardless of who he says is going to pay for it, new mexico -- mexico, which i think will through the trade agreements. $5 billion is a drop in the bucket for what this country spends. the democrats cannot let the wall be built on one of his biggest campaign promises he has made and they are willing to make all 800 people suffer to make their point. this president is going to win this because the east coast and the west coast are with this president and the rest are against trump. the rest of the country is with this president and we hope the president sticks to his word and gets that wall built regardless. host: do you think the daca provisions will make some republicans cautious about the plan? caller: short it is.

those kids are already here. if they have a clean record and stayed out of trouble and produced for this country, give them citizenship after 10 years or whatever and speak english. this country needs people to come into this country. here, gives that are them the right way pathway through here. no illegal immigration. do it the right thing -- way like all the rest of them are doing it. once they are here, i guess they are here. we cannot ship them all out. -- andhen and kultur kultur was giving her thoughts, the president proposes amnesty, we voted for trump and we got jeb. that is from the twitter feed that went when this deal was first announced and she has made

comments since then. in maryland, independent line. caller: good morning. said,he other gentlemen we are not supposed to negotiate with terrorists. i think the president because act of closing down the -- inment and holding think that is not even a starter. host: even the specifics of daca and tps protections are not a starter in your mind? caller: not even a starter. host: why not? caller: it is from the standpoint of hostage taking. i just don't think those two have anything to do with one another. host: a previous caller said these were issues the democrats were passionate about at one

time. caller: they are passionate about it. the fact of the matter is the folks that are hurting right now .re already u.s. citizens they have not been paid yet and i just want to say open the government without a deal, period. they had nothing to do with that . after opening the government we can talk about amnesty, we can talk about the border wall funding and -- host: what makes you think those conversations will continue after the government opens? caller: the people should demand these conversations continue. not only the conversation of amnesty and the border wall funding, but it should be like another one of the callers said, there should be a larger issue put on the table. let's take on things at once. amnesty, the wall.

the biggest issues of the nation are still education -- the price of education, college and other forms of education and health care. that is still a really big issue. we have to get our hands around all of that. host: we will have to leave it there. city, michigan, republican line, sandy is next. caller: yes. i wanted to tell you i have been a republican just for the last two years and this is because when senator schumer from new york said in one of his speeches was tos whole purpose , thereit the president is a further reason for this, daca more no, regardless with

what they do with that. let me read this. host: before you read what you are going to read, tell us what you -- caller: don't stop me. hush. let me read this. there is neither a president or vice president to discharge powers and duties of the office of president. then the speaker of the house of representatives shall, upon his bragging -- resignation as speaker and as representative shall act as president. if you want to know where the democrats are going with this, this is in our constitution. caller: currently there is a president and vice president as well as the speaker. what do you think about those specifics? caller: it is not going to make any difference. even if nancy pelosi said she would let him build the wall, then she has to get passed

schumer and the republicans don't have a majority in the senate in order to pass anything . host: that is sandy letting us know her thoughts on this offer made on president -- by president trump on saturday. you saw congressional action over the weekend that will probably continue to this week. henry in new york. hello. caller: hello. good morning. i don'tmment is understand why the democrats have to negotiate anything. this is not a democratic initiative. this is trump's initiative that violencely on with the of language. remember the youth -- words he used describing people migrating north. second idea that comes to mind is he is asking people to negotiate in any other words, human trafficking. that is what it is.

anyway. what else did i want to say? republicans are calling in as if they won the last election. of the middle of the country voted for trump. you lost 40 seats. you lost control of the house of representatives. you guys lost. host: that is hendry -- henry in new york. needs to beer, daca given a path to citizenship. if congress does not take care of immigration laws, they will be given a pass to citizenship. with that, given his wall. d --aca --ys dr. kids were always going to be given a path to citizenship. independent line from stockton, california. noah had, matthew. cash go ahead, matthew.

ahead, matthew. caller: the border wall is ridiculous, that is not going to stop anything. we need more surveillance and drone techniques. e. also needs to be abolished, basically, and more border patrol agents. i was totally with border -- bernie sanders on having free medical for all medi-cal. host: back to daca. why is it you are supportive of this effort? caller: because most of my family is also hispanic and it was really hard for them to come for where -- from where they came from. next fromn is

california. republican line. go ahead. ahead. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: yep, go ahead. caller: i was part of the president's move. the united states of america is a place of laws. laws are black-and-white and lady justice is blind. the people involved in daca are here illegally. i am surprised the president was able to offer daca. that is one of the kings of the castles for emma kratz, a huge issue and shows the president is willing to compromise. i think the better deal would have been for daca people to finish the law and restructure all the immigration problems. democrats aren't sensitive to the children involved.

host: that is something you are comfortable with, that he made that offer? caller: that is a great question. i am not exactly comfortable because at the end of the day, it is illegal and we are making an exception to the law. i understand -- i can sympathize with daca. it is a pill i will be able to swallow for the greater good for immigration to be accomplished. goes do you think if this forward and the president mentioned even referencing amnesty being part of a larger immigration package, when he says things like that, what is your reaction? caller: amnesty is a situation in and of itself. i think part of that money would beefing up the-- justice system. it's not just about mexico. this is not a fight against mexico. they come from all over south america and everybody wants to

come to america because it is the land of opportunity. amnesty has to be distinguished from what is real and what is not real and what is considered amnesty. if i want a better life for my family because it is

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cable or satellite provider. tonight, on "the communicators." the mossberg talks about future of technology and why he quit using facebook. >> they are in trouble because i think because of their policies turnedions, they have off a lot of people and lost the trust of a lot of people. not even most of those people have left facebook. it is fair to say there is a lot of people who have cut back their use of facebook, even if they have not left it. communicators," tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span two. washington journal continues. a cold day at the martin

luther king jr. memorial here in washington, d.c. with philip -- with people filtering through, , weof the things open today carry on a conversation on that work, where it stands on race relations with guests joining us in our studio. we are joined by armstrong williams, a talkshow host and ,olumnist and leonard steinhorn the author of "the illusion of integration." thanks for joining us this morning. we were together one year ago to talk about this. year later on the issue of race? guest: you know, it is always a work in progress. think what people are realizing is that none of us are groups, no matter what part of

the world we come from, the things that unite us is getting to know each other and learning our values and our futures -- our virtues. i am willing to bet that the professor, and the united states, if they were to sit in a room, they would find common ground. respect.oing to find it is not always about race. sometimes it is economics. sometimes it is about policies. we come into this world differently. we have different experiences. it makes this country who and what we are. when we were here one year ago, i liked this guy. i saw value in his perspective. i have had him on our show and we traded a dialogue. host: professor? guest 2: it is important for people to

get to know each other and understand and appreciate each other's human dignity and respect it. that was part of martin luther king's message is to see people by become tentative their character and not the color of their skin. historically, people happen divided by groups. slavery identified a group of people. segregation is about a group of people and segregated and dehumanize them. we have had laws that put people apart because of their groups. we have to look at the history of how people have been divided by groups and understand the impact. for example, there is such a wealth gap between white and black. if you have a bachelors degree and you are black, you have 1/6 of the wealth of a white person. 70% of the wealth of a white person without a bachelors degree.

that is because the history of how black people have been treated in this country. why is that? isyou look at housing, which one of the ways people have been able to accumulate wealth. and 1962, 90% of the mortgages went to white people. what does that mean? middle-class neighborhoods get created, good jobs come there, housing prices go up, people accumulate wealth. when you do not have that and you have been discriminated against by government policies, you cannot come to the same starting line as everybody else. understand the history about how race as a group has divided us. host: may i respond? -- guest 1: may i respond? host: please. guest 1: it would be foolish of us to believe that you can

enslave people and treat them as and like animals and use their physical resources, it is going to give you an advantage. abhor slavery and racism and bigotry. embrace and how this played a role, policies need to evolve, government needs to evolve. in 2019, we're talking about the same issues? people, youelping may have the best intentions but it may be detrimental. we are going to look at our workeds and look at what

and what has not and what has benefited people. when you give people dignity, respect, when they can earn their way of life, you put these systems in place. most people do not want to a government handout. they want to be able to take care of families. government policies are not always in the best interest of people who are poor. cannot blame everything on race. is it an issue? yes, there are barriers that will challenge you and it is always in society. you have got to get a good education, you will got to learn how to read, to make sacrifices. there is something that is not working. there is no reason why a kid can come through high school and graduate and is illiterate. yes, there is an economic cap.

you have got to talk about financial literacy. you do not talk about teaching kids how to balance a checkbook and how not to be exploited by financial institutions. i saw a piece where, why is it that government and private industry exploit the poor more than anybody else. they believe they are ignorant and can take advantage of them. on point, points are you cannot take away individual responsibility and the fact that government policies must evolve so they empower people. host: the phone lines are open. if you want to give comment or thoughts to this conversation with our guests, armstrong williams, and leonard steinhorn. go ahead. guest 2: people have agency. all of those people who find that they have less wealth than people who never earned their bachelor's degree, what is society telling them?

what are the structures that are preventing people of color gaining those forms of equality with white people? i agree people have agency and they have to be able to do things for themselves. let's not look at a handout. a it is a handout, it is handout to every single business that is able to do appreciate whatever it has. -- to depreciate whatever it has. a handout to people have 401(k) tax plans. it is easy to criticize priorities when they are targeted for people in poverty. we have so many lobbyists in washington, d.c. who use government to their invented and nobody calls that a handout. they have high paid people going to capitol hill every day to gain advantages for them. poor people do not have that. they need a voice.

so much of our problem is derived from history. i would like to quote james boldin. what he said is compelling. history does not refer merely to the past. the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it , are unconsciously controlled by it and history is present in all that we do. history is present in all that we do. legacyot even raise the of discrimination, of segregation, of enslavement, of policies built into our society to favor certain groups and continue to do so they continue to have an impact on people's lives every day. who goesare somebody to work in somebody sees you as a file clerk rather than a top discrimination builds upon history that dehumanizes people. it is not individuals on them.

it is on the rest of society how we treat each other and how we deal with the issues related to history. host: a quick response and then calls. guest 1: my only point. policies must evolve. you need to help people and not keep them in poverty. obama and theent congressional black caucus is a wonderful example. we spent all these time and resources of electing people to power. if they were in the senate, the lives of black people were changed. it did not happen. it is steeper. when you try to say it is about

race, there is a structure, a systemic structure that is in place. president, avon with a record number of members of the congressional black caucus, not much has changed. you ask yourself why. there is a spiritual illness we do not want to address. there is an issue that people cannot get out of poverty. poverty is a political football for some people. elections, the reason why you have these issues is racism so you need to vote for us. using peopleo stop for political gain and empower them in a way where passes on for generations. host: i apologize because i want to get a call in. democrats line, jerry, go ahead. caller: good morning. greetings yet again from a frozen and snowy motown.

i have questions and a comment if you have time. guests,like to ask both these are pertaining to white people, about the attitudes of white people. first, when white people talk about martin luther king, i always wondered, do either of you think that dr. king was every bit as much revered, loved, admired, respected and every bit as much as a hero and inspiration to white people as to black people? second, i would like to know from both of you how far you think, in terms of their beliefs and attitudes about black people , how far you think why people have come? i would like to make a comment if i can. host: we will see what happens. professor stein horn? guest 1: white people have come a long way.

-- caller: white people have -- guest 2: why people have come a long way. every ethnicity is far more inclusive. it is the least prejudiced generation in our history. we have to applaud that progress. that has to come from within. , it is a test. black and white people see dr. king differently. white people tend to hear dr. king's speech at the lincoln memorial in 1963 and say, we have to judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. that,gest that because of we do not be policies that are race conscious because we ought to have policies that are race blind because that is what dr. king talked about. when you look at what dr. king talked about beyond that speech, that was about the dignity of humanity, about treating each other as equals, about

respecting each other as a full human being and not seeing their color. dr. king also talked about a bill of rights for the disadvantaged. he talked about a national atonement for the sins of the past and government priorities and policies that would use the pollock -- use the power of government to help people climb to the middle class. this is how black people see dr. king. activistdr. king as an and somebody willing to challenge the power structures and push for policies that would create greater equality and not just leave it to the whim of individual agency. in some ways, black and white people admire dr. king but see we areferently because each interpreting his message according to how we want to and what may be best for our perspective. sometimes we need a

reminder in our history that slaves andople owned plantations in this country. many people, regardless of their reprehensible, slavery and bigotry, not because summit was black or white or muslim, because it is morally bankrupt. you can understand right or wrong. not all of us would be where we are today. because ofnot just the color of their skin, it is because reverend king spoke to ,he conscious, the goodness what god had planned for us when we were created. martin luther king was not political because he saw the ,hortcomings of john f. kennedy who was not always with him during that time because it was not expedient.

you take a southerner like lyndon baines johnson what he did for civil rights. dr. king realized there are shortcomings in all of us, we all have something to strive for. to ask a question about how white people feel about martin luther king, to me, is a sad, it is sad for me. i'm out on the street and i in aa been -- i have been situation like this and somebody is attacking my brother, i'm going to hell because he is a human being. that is what dr. king spoke to. many movements today, the women's movement, all of them are built on dr. king's message, nonviolence. democrats are getting pushback is because in the women's march it has to be about nonviolence. you cannot reduce yourself to a , profanedisrespect

language. dr. king was a moral leader and that is what people adhere to and that is not black or white. guest 1: let me say this. you are right. very few people enslaved to people. it was not just the active enslavement that poison society. it was racism that made slavery legitimate. it was that that continues to pervade our society in many ways. it hits us in terms of interpersonal relationships. it also hits us in terms of policies. one of the best pieces of legislation is the criminal justice reform and it was gratifying to see democrats and republicans come together. ,onservatives and liberals realize that. mass incarceration was built in

our society and was institutionalized after the 13th amendment which said that slavery and involuntary servitude were unconstitutional except as punishment for crime. so many african-americans, after the civil war, were almost re-enslaved, incarcerated, to serve as free labor for white people in the south of this country. racialt in motion injustice that reverberates today throughout the black community and society. if we do not come to terms with that history, we are not going to be able to reckon with our problems today. host: let's go to william, north carolina, independent my. hello. -- independent mind. line.ependent hello. caller: i retired from the military.

i applied for a contractor's license. it is over 30 years later. they would not allow me to take the test up to 2019. can you explain? you're not allowed to practice your profession. host: why do you think is the reason? honestly, maybe thousands of people getting general contractor's licenses. [indiscernible] host: you are breaking up. -- guest 2: we all have individual stories as to why we

do not reach certain things we bill we deserve. i do not know him. -- we feel we deserve. i do know know him. i wish it had not turned out that way for him. at some point, you have got to move on and use your talents in other ways. host: from stephanie in california. democrats line. caller: good morning. i wanted to say i believe we need to reinstate to the affirmative-action law. i think they did help out the minorities when it was in effect. those has heard the black community -- has hurt the black community and that is why we do need government. we cannot trust people to do the right thing. there have been in events --

have turnedthat this country upside down starting with the rodney king the o.j. simpson trial, and the election of obama. , thisince those things country is so divided because we have different opinions. , we elected obama and it has proven we are not. i think we need to go back to the basics and give some type of right to the lower and poorer class communities. host: thank you. king said he supported a policy of preferential treatment to rehabilitate the disadvantaged negro.

dr. king supported forms of affirmative-action although he was not a policy wonk. ofwas the moral imperative understanding the government has to rebalance society to be able to compensate for this weight of history on the backs of african-americans. gets thrownaction into this debate where people are throwing facts at each other and trying to say it is fair or unfair. experience, why i think it is such an important policy. -- from a personal expense, why i think it is such an important policy. i had a graduate student who wrote this amazing paper and i went into her file to see, is she getting a full scholarship, is she a teaching assistant and if not, why not? she was not. her graduate record exam's was low.

yet, she was brilliant. on a basis of merit, you could say that this person did not deserve financial aid because she did not have the merit and do as well on those tests. that overlooked that individuality you are talking about, that genius she had that we were not able to find under .he traditional merits you look at college omissions. college admissions. if you are a family making over $200,000 a year, you're going to score points higher than r. those people are randomly smart. the same randomly capability, the same genius, the same possibility to achieve. it is their income status and where they are in society that

determines what they get on this exam. when somebody tries to rebalance up through affirmative-action, they are saying you're are penalizing people who did better on the test. we have to redefine marriage to understand -- redefine .erit to understand it is rebalancing inequalities and i think that is what dr. king was talking about. host: mr. williams? ,uest 1: unfortunately affirmative action, many of these programs, listen, the government has done more than any institution to move american blacks into the middle class. i do not know if anyone could argue with that. the government, through the small business administration and programs that encourage entrepreneurship, where they

give them the resources and stability to build businesses. one of the things that dr. king talked about was civil rights is important, economic empowerment would be the new paradigm for the future. for affirmative-action, i do language, bute my affirmative action is a boondoggle. there are people that benefits. for the majority of young people without skills and education, they could not tell you what affirmative-action is. the unfortunate thing is, i hate breaking things down to race, it benefited white women in this country. were the least to benefit from affirmative-action. that is the way it was designed. many of these programs are designed for the elite. it is not designed for the poor.

inis not designed for those the middle class and you will find that many of the people who middle-class are minorities. most.l impact them the it is not as if they are targeting black people for these programs to fail. it is that they realize they do not have the skill set. government, we have some of the most brilliant people, they know what works and what does not. they have been doing it for so long for their friends, for their consultants, that it does not benefit everyday americans. both sides do it. that is why the american people have a problem with the establishment. they feel like they are being hosed. just like the government is shut down. our members of congress losing

their paychecks? it is insane. they should be losing their checks while these people suffer. that is how the government works and that is why there's such a divide in this country. the sleeping giant has been awakened. say the it is hard to government has done a remarkable job in helping african-americans then the middle class and go and trash government. there are things everybody can do better. businesses fail all the time but we do not trash free enterprise. it is important to figure out what works and what does not. affirmative-action has not solve poverty. it does not mean affirmative-action is illegitimate. it gives hope to people that they will have an equal shot at a job that they would not have had an equal shot at. when they get the job, it tells her children they might have an equal shot to have a better life and to do more.

because affirmative-action is not the magic wand that solves every problem in society does not mean it is illegitimate for solving certain problems. we have to rethink the policies, we had to come together, figure out what works, the rigorous in terms of our scrutiny of policies. we cannot go along and get along to make sure the same policy at one point is going to work now. it requires a belief in an agentt that it is of change and not to trash it and say, it is no good and people are looking out for their cronies. you said government has been one of the greatest forces to help people move into the middle class. guest 1: if i could just, i just had an epiphany. people,oo many black hundreds of them, who do not need affirmative-action in the itssroom to get a job and

marginalizes them to think that they have their place in society. you have got to be kidding me. i know many blacks who are not struggling. these stats trent to define what black america is like is ridiculous. stats they trot out to define what black america is like is ridiculous. listen, yes, anything is going to have a benefit. is the benefit substantial enough to justify its continuance? my answer is no. feels2: what white person they got an advantage in society because they are white? why people do not think that way. nobody ever thinks, i got this job because i am white. if you can do the job, it does not matter what other people think. you do your job and do it well. had racialhave advantages, many white people have benefited and we should not ignore that. host: another call, jeff from

mississippi, republican mime. you are on. -- republican line. you are on. martin luther king was a fine man. his content and his character was his belief in god, not government. god gave them up. trutha foundational because this nation was founded by christian beliefs. it says it three times and romans, chapter one. i am not judging anyone. i am warning people. you need to turn back to god. host: thank you. north dakota, hello. caller: good morning, c-span. awesome topic. let me say i am a native american. i am from north dakota.

let me give you a quick example. i will not take you much time. does i will not take much time. i will not take much time. i wanted something on my plate. the state told me, on their denial letter,, the reason behind their not giving me the plate is because it promoted lawlessness. it does not surprise me because d in thethis knothea white house calling the one senator pocahontas. race relations are at an all-time high. is it going to get fixed? i do not know. it is up to god. i have taken enough time.

remember, native americans are the largest population along with the african-americans to provide security in the armed forces for this united states we call america. host: thank you. let me get your reaction to what we saw back on the house for -- floor a couple of weeks ago when it comes to steve king, comments he made about white nationalism, the reaction. where do you think it suggests we are when it comes to issues of race? guest 2: it was good that congress rebuked steve king. what he has said has been reprehensible. steve king is a symptom of the problem and not the problem. with all due respect to our president, he ran on a platform ntiredemonized an e ethnicity, talking about

mexicans being rapists and murderers. he talked about the fine people in charlottesville. whether he has those ill thoughts inside of himself or not, i cannot say. those comments give permission for people to do horrible things and say horrible things and i do not think we need that permission coming out of the white house for people to express their racism and bigotry. it goes deeper than that. it is easy to criticize steve king for his actions. the criticism of voter suppression and bills that throughoutassed certain legislatures to keep people from exercising their right to vote? seen,ge part, as we have some folks wanted to keep minorities from voting. of systemicrm bigotry and racism that needs to be addressed because i close to the heart of our democracy.

yes, condemn steve king. the problem is larger. if all we do is pat ourselves on , picking that lohan fruit and saying, we address the fooling racism, we are ourselves and not doing the hard work of democracy in dealing with this. host: mr. williams? guest 1: we forget that with 535 members of congress, they represent every segment of our society, criminals, they are all represented. just because they put on a suit and tie, you have to get to know them. stephen king should have been condemned long ago. that interview about white , heemacy and nationalists has just got what he deserved. i have no sympathy for him and they should condemn him. , when we interesting

talk about the president, and i appalling. president that the president is a bigot -- to allude that the , he is anis a bigot equal opportunity offender. trump treats everybody be same. he had treated attorney general jeff sessions and john kelly and all the other people, if they were black, they would have called it raises him. -- called it racism. it is about power, about winning. if he can get a victory from pelosi, from mcconnell, he will take a. i do not think he is a bigot, a racist.

he can be offensive. this is what people do when he was running for office. is. is who we anybody who gets in his way, it is not about race. it is about victory to him. i'm not going to ever blame the -- orent for stephen king stephen king or anybody else who express racism in congress. guest 2: if we accept your premise that he is an equal opportunity bigot. guest 1: i never called him a bigot. guest 2: if he is what you are cynicismg, it is to use racial inside the -- racial anxiety to divide people from each other to be able to point out to people's ethnicity

and to ascribe certain characteristics of them is the opposite of everything that martin luther king stood for. your premise, that he is equal opportunity, it says he is manipulating racial and ethnic resentments to obtain that power and that may be worse than calling him a bigot. guest 1: you give the president too much credit. the president understands his actions. it is about him. you give him too much credit. host: let's hear from john in indiana, republican line. go ahead. caller: interesting conversations. i want to simplify a bit. i worked in the 1980's and i have seen of affirmative action firsthand and i have seen it in the police departments where they took people and made

sergeants out of them, utilities, auto companies. opportunities, way more than i have had in my lifetime. , get tired of hearing about that blacks are not treated right. i have watched it. it did not bother me, i made it through it. i think blacks have had plenty of opportunities, more than i have had. i get tired of hearing it. they had more than i had. they still do. host: mr. williams? you start. guest 1: listen. governmentthat this and this country, the media, corporate america goes out of its way to empower american blacks. that is the thing we do not talk about enough. makean try to empower and a difference but you cannot

empower unless you give them the opportunity to have the skill set to take advantage of these opportunities. is silicon valley, why is that much diversity among women, among minorities. logan, -- i have a niece, logan and she had an issue with math. i,sister and my brother and giving her tutors, focus, discipline and she has taken her grades until she got a report last week, all a's across the board. getting kids to focus, to believe they can master stem, it takes a lot of work of the family. , we knew she had the

skills, the potential. are you willing to make the investment in your child that no government can do but you? guest 2: i think that most people want to work hard and improve their lives. i do not think that any particular ethnic group has any monopoly on working hard or wanting to do better. i think the way liberalism and sm breakdown is the conservatives believe that if you have not worked hard or if you have not succeeded, it is because you have not worked hard. liberals say it could be because you have not worked hard enough or it could be because the history and the system and society and social factors are working against you. liberals say we need to help rebuild social structures so that anybody who does work hard

is going to have an equal opportunity with anybody else. guest 1: i am so glad you brought up this point. god has blessed me. i do work hard. i know people have integrity, character and they work hard. they do not always have the same results. we judge our success by money, by wealth, buy houses and cars. -- by houses and cars. there has got to be another narrative that gives you contentment even if you do not have the things. we make people believe you're are not successful unless you have those. i think we have an obligation to make people understand that wealth is not the only definition of success. guest 2: i agree. isn the average black wealth

1/10 that of whites, when you do not have the same amount of money to hand to your kids, when the odds are that if you work hard and go to college, you are going to be saddled with debt when other families might not because they have equity, that creates an environment where you have to push the ball up the hill constantly to get to the peak. we need to find that in turtle contentment. i agree -- that internal contentment. i agree. it is harder when your income is almost half of somebody else's. host: 20 seconds. guest 1: there are a lot of people who are not black who are sitting here saying, i am struggling, i had to move back with my parents. i am not black. you are describing many people. but if it ist

because of our history, we have to address it. i'm not denying what you're saying. on aociety has been built history that has been imbalanced because of race and people feel what you're talking about because there black. host: we will hear from georgia, independent line. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i am listening to the conversation, as a black woman i am inca, i believe the middle class. i am educated. , at the time it was a predominantly white institution. i do not know if it was affirmative action or what. this is what america has to realize. white people in america have 400 years on me which means i come

out of slavery. i have no idea where i come from. everyone else knows where their roots stem from. talk aboutu equality, every time i get into an organization to have a caper something -- to advocate for something, i am were educated. my daughter is an attorney. she is making less than her white counterparts who had no formal education except a high school diploma. in various components of america, we see discrimination. i want to leave this thought with you all. i am from atlanta. it is called the black mecca. we have our first black mayor, mayor jackson. action tofirmative

build the airport at the time. look at the airport now. it is the busiest in the world. go back and read what he did to build that. i'm going to leave you with that. host: professor? guest 2: i think one of the great stories we have tell is the rise of the black middle class against the obstacles against them. this has been over the last 40 or 50 years since the start of the civil rights movement. in echoingdr. king what our caller said and he said "if a man is entered in eight race 300 years after the other man, the first would have to perform some impossible feat to catch up." dr. king understood this is why we have to find new ways to rebalance our society to give people opportunities to overcome the 300 year deficit now.

it does not mean that people depend on government to get there. what it means is that government wetrying to redress issues continue to face because of that deficit and try and help people. that is what the point is. it is not to give people an advantage. it is to give people an opportunity. ofn you see the perseverance african-americans in the last 40 or 50 years to acquire middle-class status, even if they do not have wealth, but to acquire middle-class status, that speaks to the hard-working character that you are talking about across the board in a decknity that has the stacked against it. it is one of the great stories that we have to tell. theave to understand obstacles they continue to prevent more people from getting their. i think what we forget

is that you are the blessed ones. we have learned that from the history of black people and you learned it from the holocaust. we have this thing called spiritual currency. struggle.ies in the the currency is in the struggle. while your ancestors may have paid the price and my ancestors paid the price, look at 40 years. there is nothing we have not faced that we cannot overcome. you have to take these obstacles and make these your footstool. the moreone of remarkable poll findings is that african-americans tend to be more optimistic than white americans, that sense of i have had to climb that he'll end overcome it and i am going --

that hill and i'm going to overcome it. it is that story. we should not push out the alternative story which is you have a steeper hill. it is not to say that white people do not have a hill. sayingmake a mistake by that because you're white you do not have a hill to climb. black people just have to climb a steeper one because of our history. if we put everybody together and understand everybody struggle and effort to make a better life, we can create more of that community that dr. king talks about. host: in tennessee, republican line, robert. hello. caller: good morning, c-span. brother, williams, my my brother in christ. i appreciate you being on and

trying to stand up for us. i have got one comment on stephen king. anybody, in the republican, any conservative that is stupid enough to let a new york times --orter interview them host: thanks. let's go to bill in wisconsin, democrats line. caller: my name is bill. i am native american and a veteran. why don't we have a sitting bull day? host: ok. that is a color from wisconsin. from our twitter feed, there is a question. we need another harlem renaissance. how do we spend the concept of black-owned businesses? guest 1: i love the entrepreneurs space. thehave got to unleash

entrepreneurship. you have got to create businesses by doing real estate, by understanding how the financial markets work, by seeing if you can get business loans or by going to corporations to partner with. entrepreneurship to me, is the ultimate freedom. there is no such thing as freedom of speech. for me, there is no independence until you own your own business. i like the fact i am free and that is important. while i work hard and we all work hard, the benefits of being your own boss, learning about yourself, empowering and helping people, where you teach them to be responsible, putting away 20% of everything you make once you ,tart making money, having that

we not only need a harlem renaissance, we need entrepreneur renaissance throughout this country. that is the stability that hold this country together. the president talk about the black unemployment rate a lot. what do you think as far as the number is concerned? guest 1: listen. i know there are these polls that say there are american blacks that favor the president, especially black man. these have conversations, people feel they have more money in their pockets, they have more options, more opportunities. what they forget, no matter what the poor my birth of -- moral fiber of the nation, when people are doing well, they create

dumbed downs, they the morality and they embrace entrepreneurship. the president is a businessman. he is optimistic, everything is great, everything is good. not, itit is true or makes people believe they can be successful. you need optimism in this country. earlier about this huge huge.form bill was the fact that it happened on president trump's watch, you have to give him and jared kushner and kim kardashian credit when people come together . does do good in terms of lowering unemployment and creating opportunities. host: professor stein mart? guest 2: -- stein mart?

?- steinhorn guest 2: it did start under president obama's policies. much impact a how president may have over the business cycle. we have been in a 10 year recovery. what worries me is not the recovery, it is what happens when we stumble. this is where the saying goes, when the economy catches a cold, black people catch pneumonia. the ones who are first hit by hard economic times are minorities. it is good to talk about the good things. what happens when things do not turn out as well? even in boom times, we have seen recessions. i think, this is the test of what any president or leader would do, is not celebrating the if he wantswhich,

to take credit, fine. the reality is this has been a 10 year recovery. it is what they do and people are struggling. that is the measure of any leader. host: let's hear from dorothy in brooklyn, democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to thank you for the opportunity to have heard this program and to respond. i agree with what the gentleman said, the host. what is important, is not material things. it is spiritual things. we, as a people, i am an african in america. i am 72. it has taken me sometime to understand that what is important is we all want to know where we are from. we need to focus more on where we are at this time in these

united states of america. we need to focus on saving our children because it is our children that is going to make the difference. it is our children that we must fight for so there will be a difference for them in this country. children becausematerial thingsn accomplish that. we have. a lot of us have not. has been foro years, has caused us not to focus on who we are as a people, who we are as a nation. i call on our communities, wherever we are, to focus on our children. host: that is dorothy. where do we go from here? as far as relations, where do we go? guest 1: i go back to my brother. it is so important for us to set

an example wherever we are that we all have value. no one is right all the time and no one is wrong all the time. we have to set examples, even in the shutdown. they have got to compromise for the greater good, the acid of the american people. that is who we are here to serve. it is unfortunate that the two most powerful people in the world, our president and lucy osi, the things thing gauged in last week, we have to them -- the things they engaged in last week. we have to change them. what is in our best interest? the president does not always get it right but he is not always run. you cannot be dismissive.

you are condemning it without ever hearing what he has to say. that is what kids do. you have got to look at what the presidentand bring this governmt shutdown to a close. my point is what we have to do is americans -- we have to find respect and civility, no matter how much we think we know, matter how much we despise this person. we have to find the good. that we have think to learn to talk with each other. you talk about respect. i agree with that. we are leaving -- living in a siloed country. thate consume media confirms their biases. we live in neighborhoods that are monochromatic in terms of political views or cultural perspectives or religions. people have to break out of that and talk with each other. we have to build that larger sense of integration that dr. 1960's.race in the

we do not see each other's humanity, if we do not understand that because you and i may disagree it is not disagreeable, we can understand that everybody has good faith in the -- in what they want to accomplish but we have to hear each other out and understand that even if i disagree with that person they have good faith, the best interests of this country and i have to be able to respect their humanity and their dignity. to some extent, we are in this bad space in our country where people are retreating to their own bunkers, not talking with each other not breaking out of that. it is not us listening to the president. it is the president also making the effort to reach out. frank lynn roosevelt said the presidency is about moral leadership. what he has to be able to do is not surround himself with yes-men and yes women who are going to confirm his biases and maybe bring into the white house people who are going to be willing to have a conversation

so that he can hear the other side in a human and dignified way. if he or any president surrounds himself only with people they agree with, it becomes an echo chamber and if you disagree, you are seen as somebody bad, not good, not somebody i want to listen to. to some extent, this does fall on the president and his form of leadership. in some ways, he has to find that generosity of soul and spirit to be able to embrace diverse viewpoints and become that moral leader that franklin roosevelt spoke about. host: thank you for the conversation this morning. you have heard from littered steinhorn -- from leonard steinhorn and armstrong williams, radio and tv, and talkshow host and columnist. thank you for joining us. coming up, we are going to take a look at the shutdown in terms of what it is doing for those who receive assistance from housing and urban development and those low income renters.

we will have that conversation with diane yentel, the ceo of the national low income housing coalition. she will be with us when washington journal continues. ♪ announcer: live february 3 -- super bowl sunday at noon eastern. author and sportswriter is our guest on book tv. author of many books, including a people's history of sports in united states, game over: how politics have turned the sports

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the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. washington journal continues. host: it is time for our weekly your money segment. we take a look at the aspects of the shutdown particularly as it comes to renters and others within the united states of america. conversationr this is diane yentel, the president and ceo of the national low income housing coalition. could you tell our viewers about organization and the things you do? guest: the national low income housing coalition is a membership organization. we are dedicated to achieving socially just public policies that ensure that the lowest income people have decent, safe, and affordable homes. we do our work the research. our policy recognitions are grounded in data. ,e do analysis and advocacy

organizing and communication. assistanceany get from the federal government to help them with their housing situation? guest: there are about 10 million people who receive some subsidized housing today. many more need it. the programs are underfunded compared to the need, especially at this time where we are facing a severe housing crisis. host: if you go to the hud website it says activities have pretty much stopped because of the shutdown. what does that mean for those who depend on this assistance? guest: there is a variety of impacts that low income renters are starting to feel. the longer the shutdown continues, the more negatively they are being impacted. hud has a few major rental assistance programs. for each of them, the impacts are different. there is a project-based rental

assistance program were hud has with ownersontracts who keep units affordable for low income people. deeply poormostly seniors and people with disabilities with an average income of $13,000 a year. for that program, as of last week, there were 700 contracts with owners that have expired, which means hud is not able to , to payose contracts those owners the money they need to keep properties running. owners have been told they should use their savings. some have adequate savings and can do that for a few months. others are going to face challenges paying the bills in days.ming weeks or there are other rental assistance programs such as the

section eight voucher program and public housing. for them, the impacts are a little less immediate, but potentially no less severe. for the section eight voucher program, that is the program where individuals -- individual , many seniors and people disabilities, get assistance from the federal government to live in a private apartment. they pay 30% of their income towards their rent and the federal government pays the rest up to a reasonable amount. the public housing agencies that a minister those housing programs have the funding they need in january. hud assures them they will get the funding they need in february. it is not until early march that that program falls off the funding cliff. in the meantime, we are starting section eight voucher holders whose landlords are refusing to new their leases because they are concerned they

will not get paid during a government shutdown. route --ants who have vouchers cannot find a landlord to relent -- rent to them for the same reason. we are sorry to hear more and more directly from low income residents who are being threatened with rent hikes or evictions or are worried they will be soon. if you have questions for diane yentel, particularly what is happening during the shutdown when it comes to low income people and rent assistance they would get from pod, you can ask her questions. if you live in eastern and central time zones, it is (202) 748-8000. in the mountain and pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. if you have received this type of assistance and you want to tell us your perspective, (202) 748-8002. you're welcome to post on our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan and our twitter feed @cspanwj.

if i am a renter and i depend on this assistance and i'm not getting it, what happens if that legal action comes? notice,et an eviction what is the legal recourse, if any? host: it depends on the program -- guest: it depends on the program and where they live. for the project-based rental assistance program, the majority of those have been renewed and hud has adequate money to continue paying them for a couple months. most of those projects are safe. expiring contracts are -- the lease agreements expire as well. the owners of these contracts have expired our mission driven nonprofit organizations. they will do everything they can to make sure people keep the lights on. they will keep -- take out loans

if they have to. the other half are profit driven loners. but whenhave savings, their savings are depleted or patient's runs then, residents are at risk of eviction. there are state and local laws that can protect them and there is a proceeding they have to go through. the first thing a resident in that short of program should do if they get a letter suggesting rents will go up or they may start eviction proceedings is they should reach out to an attorney. the daschle housing law project is a good place to start -- the national housing law project is beood place to start to connected with an attorney who can help them know their rights. -- and what could've been

done to resolve these issues? guest: we have not heard much from secretary carson at all, either leading into the shutdown or during the shutdown. there are other political and career staff, typically 7000 staff nationally. during the shutdown there is 300 staff. there are very few of them. several of the political staff and career staff are making themselves as available as possible and doing phone calls with stakeholders, sharing information. different from the experience we are having with usda, which also runs a smaller rental assistance program. in that program, we are seeing contracts expiring at that is a place where the last week, we have seen a number of owners putting eviction notices or threats to read hikes on the doors of low income residents. of the mediacause

spotlight and members of congress who have been getting engaged that they have backed off of those threats. has been difficult to get information from about contracts, where they are advising odors to use their savings. they have bid silent -- they have bid siloed all this. hud.gov, thiso to is the notice you will see. rod is up first from texas, republican lied. -- republican line. caller: my name is ron. i have a couple of questions. you're talking about hud and i'm watching it. i've two questions. i do not know how much you will let me talk. hud andt's focus on

programs affected by the shutdown. the question -- i saw the state department -- host: we are going to have to leave it there because it is not related to our discussion. about a scenario where the shutdown eventually adds -- ends. what happens to moneys missed in the meantime? will they be given back? caller: -- host: they will -- guest: they will. what's staff are back in the office, they will go through the, pate -- redo renew them, pay owners what they need. if they are able to dip into their savings now, they should add they will know they will be paid back ultimately ad be made whole. a bigger challenge is some of the longer-term damage we may see to these programs.

the programs i've talked about predominantly, they rely on private market for dissipation to be successful. what we are seeing -- with these private odors start to see funding from the federal government as being odd reliable or volatile, they will be increasingly less willing to participate in these programs, these crucial programs. that is the long-term damage that can really harm low income renters. host:. they may want a guarantee as far as income. guest: it is reasonable for them to want to know the federal government will actually pay the bills. the longer the shutdown goes on, the more they doubt that. i am retired from public housing, and i'm one of the more .ortunate

a -- therting to problem is not all of the want to retire from the housing authorities are physically fit. after years of extremely hard , they are not physically fit. i'm fortunate there, but this is not organized yet. we need someone from the political arena to organize this. thank you. guest: i am not sure what organization you are referring to the needs organization after you have left public housing but i am glad you have raise the topic. that is one of the important programs that have administrators and in terms of the shutdown public housing -- publicowners

housing agencies that administer the public housing program get funding through two streams -- one for operations, keeping the lights on, keeping staff able to manage those units. the other is for repairs. side, thisation public housing agencies have what they need through january and hud has assured them they will have what they need through february. for capital repairs, unless public housing agencies have savings available to them for that purpose, and some do but many do not, they do not have access to this funding they need to fix up public housing units. the longer the shutdown goes on, the more these repair needs will pileup in the more it puts low income residents who live those units at risk.

you can imagine a family with young children who have asthma. if there units develop a mold problem and the public housing agency is not able to access the funds they need to remediate that mold, that child is increasingly at risk the longer the shutdown goes on. twitter says i am low income/disabled and i live in a housing authority department. thanks for information. what is there is possibility of staff to inform the public of what is going on? guest: a lot of public housing agencies have a doing their best to be clear about information, about the potential long-term impacts, but also assure residents that at least when it comes to the section eight and the public housing program that most residents are safe for now. there are a lot who meant sending out residents -- notices to the residents to let them know that.

they are in touch with hud, considering what kind of savings they have available so they can think ahead, should this continue, what they could do to protect tenants. you have received assistance from hud, (202) 748-8002 is the number to call. eastern and central, (202) 748-8000. if you live in mountain and pacific, (202) 748-8001. democrats mayuse be easing their newfound power in the house to investigate these issues. what is the level of investigation you think will happen and who is leading the charge? guest: there is a number of members of congress paying close attention. last week there was a letter that 170 members of congress sent to hide and to the white house laying out -- send to hud outthe white house laying

what is starting to accrue for these programs and urging them to reopen the government. -- senatorrod brown sherrod brown sent a letter saying what actions need to be taken. chairwoman maxine waters sent a letter raising an important continuum ofhud's care grants, which is money local communities receive to work on issues related to homelessness in those communities. many of those grants go to small shelters who may have some agreements or ways to house some of their residents and apartments. there money is running thin. ability and under its contingency plan says that because the issue is related to

homelessness and a matter of life and safety, they should be -- they can call in staff to get this money out the door, to get it these local communities so they can keep the shoulders running and key people housed. -- keep these people house. ' letter urgeders and demanded that hud quickly call back the staff they need in order to get this money out the door. this is carol from georgia. you're on. i am wondering two things -- why would ms. yentel -- why was ms. yentel given so much time to bash the current ministration? as far as hud, do they not have a clause in their contract with the government for shutdowns? as many as there are shutdowns, that seems incompetent to me. homeowners should have their choice to be in the program or

not by a shutdown consequence. guest: it is an interesting question. i would say the shutdown itself is what is he responsible and what is causing the issues. while many of these contracts do have something in them around a lapse in appropriations, they do not contemplate a shutdown, certainly not shutdowns of this length. we have never in the history of our country have a shutdown that has gone on this long. we are now over a month. there are no contingency plans in individual contracts with owners in the event of such a shutdown. it is the height of irresponsibility i think for the government to allow for these programs to be shut down for so long. dannyfrom ohio, this is -- annie.

caller: thank you for taking my call. i am affected by the shutdown. i am a disabled veteran with an esa dog. i moved into a hud facility because there are so few apartments available in this area. i moved in and they are not accepting my dr.'s letter for made -- for me to have my esa dog. i contacted hud because i found this was an hud facility and because of the shutdown i got an eviction notice from the apartment complex. thatas helping me overcome and talk to people who own these apartments. because of the shutdown, that person that was working with me is not available and i have until february 12 and i will be

evicted. i have drawn the line in the sand. i was in the military. they cannot do this to a veteran or to a disabled person, and this hud facility, a lotta people who are here are illegal aliens. they are taking some of the hud money, the very thing that ties into what president trump is trying to correct with the border. i am sorry you're having to face this as an example of the shutdown -- as a result of the shutdown. it is an example of a number of things that hud staff are not available to deal with that under normal circumstances they would. they have such a skeletal staff right now, 300 out of 7000 that they typically have to run these programs, and unfortunately there are a number of people that were -- that we are starting to hear from with stories like yours that have issues that could be easily

resolvable because hud staff are not there and are not able to ofch out and do the kind connecting or problem-solving that they normally would, people like you are at risk of eviction. or nlihcu will send me and email so we can talk about this issue. host: what is the picture as far as access to formal housing? -- affordable housing? guest: there is very little affordable and available housing for low income people. we are at the height of a housing crisis most negatively impacting the lowest income people. we quantify the shortage of homes every year and we find a shortage of over 7 million units affordable and available for the lowest income people. another way of looking at that is for every 100 of the lowest income renters, there are 35 homes affordable and available.

there is no place where there is a sufficient supply of homes for those lowest income renters. between the severe shortage of continuous underfunding of the programs that make homes affordable for the lowest income people, we have a system today where just one out of every four households who need assistance and are eligible for it can receive it. people who need housing assistance like the programs were talking about today, add their names to years or decades long waiting lists. it is a housing lottery system that we have where just a lucky 25% get the help they need. host: what you think are the causes? is it because of gentrification or other things? what are the causes of the lack of housing? guest: there are a lot of causes for the shortage we are in

today. if we went back to the late 70's, we would find a time when we had a surplus of homes that were affordable and available for lowest income people. our country was housing everybody who needed it. the biggest difference between then and now was federal subsidies. we spent, in today's dollars, almost three times as much on assisted housing back then as we do today. we had declining federal resources over a. of time -- over a period of time , especially when the budget control act was enacted. we have had precipitous declines in funding. then we had the foreclosure crisis in 2007, 2008. we had millions of former homeowners who are reentering the rental housing market and the supply of homes of any type was not keeping up with the demand.

we had those former homeowners entering the rental market. , a hugemillenials segment of the population, delaying homeownership longer, mostly because they are saddled with student loan debt and we have baby boomers downsizing. we have this tremendous new demand and supply is not keeping up. costs have increased. we have seen incomes, especially for the lowest income people, declining for some time and recovering a little bit but mostly staying stagnant. a huge gap developing between what rent costs and what people can afford. host: let's hear from dennis in san diego. caller: i would like to ask you all the same question i asked my v.a. psychologist, social worker, and the office of congressman scott peterson. the question being this -- we

understand in san diego that a large number of us, because of the shutdown, might end up becoming homeless again on the streets of san diego, which would make a big increase of the homeless. the question i have to ask is -- is there anyway we can arrange it so we could give a 30 day notice instead of being evicted? at some point, when things calm down, if we have that eviction on a record, we will be remaining homeless. they will reject two from any further housing in the future -- they will reject us from any further housing in the future. if we go on the streets, that would be unfortunate, but we would have a chance to make a comeback later. what you say about that? guest: it is an important question. the consequences of eviction can be devastating. there is a lot of research that makes clear that once an

eviction happens, there can be a spiraling down deeper into poverty that happens. at all costs, we have to do everything we can to ensure there are no evictions as a result of this government shutdown. it depends on the program that you are in and that you're talking about, but i would say first to engage with a local legal aid attorney to understand what are your rights in these programs, understand that if you have a section eight voucher, you should be ok. if you're living in an apartment where you have a year-long lease that is active, you should be ok. even if this shutdown goes on are notch and the pha's receiving the funding they ought to, tenets in that program still have rights and your leases are still active. there are protections.

gloss overot want to the fact that we are hearing about people who are facing, today, eviction threats and threats of rent increases. it has also been helpful over the last week or so that when we are able to get those stories and we are able to shine as much of a spotlight on them as we can, through media, social media, engaging members of congress, it has helped. owners who have attempted rent hikes over the last week have mostly backed off of that. the more you can elevate and we can help you elevate the issues you're facing now. ultimately, we have to get this government reopened. the fact that the government has been shut down for this long and people like you are starting to face the fear and threat of eviction is just shameful. the fact that the government is shut down over a debate on issues that have nothing to do

with programs that serve and house the lowest income renters in our country is reckless and irresponsible. i certainly hope and we are working and our partners are working to educate people about the impact of this shutdown with the hope that we can reopen the government soon. host: let's hear from one more person, sydney and michigan. -- in michigan. caller: my daughter lives in low income housing. she just told me last week they were going to try to raise her rent like almost $800. what can she do about this? she has my grandson. butcan come live with me, she wants to keep my grandson in that school district. sayt: it is hard to globally without knowing what program she is being served by. you raise a couple of good points. one is that the vast majority of people who receive housing assistance through hud programs

are either seniors, people with disabilities, or working low-wage jobs. depending on which program they are in, they have, a series of potential protections for them. one, engage with a local legal aid attorney if you can to find out more details about the program and what rights your daughter has two-state house there. you can feel it -- to stay house there. send me an email or direct message via tweet and we will help you find out that information. ist: our guest's website nlihc.org. our guest is the president and ceo. until the end of the program, we will have open phones. --2) 748-8000 free democrats for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans.

independence, (202) 748-8002 -- .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 we will take those calls we come back. ♪ >> live february 3, super bowl sunday at noon eastern, author and sportswriter is our guest on book tv's in depth. author of many books, including what is my name, fool? , game over, how politics have turned the sports world upside down, and jim brown: last man standing. >> i love sports. that is why i think we need to fight for sports. we need to reclaim them. what we need is we need to know our history.

that is our greatest ammunition in this fight. we need to know our history of the athletes, the sports writers, and the fans who have stood up to the machine, if for no other reason than knowing this history allows us to look at the world and see that struggle can affect every aspect of life in this system, even the ivory tower known as sports. >> during our live three hour conversation with your calls, emails, tweets, and facebook questions sunday, february 3 at noon eastern on book tv's in-depth on c-span2. tonight on the commute caters, tech journalist talks about the future of technology and why he quit using facebook. >> i think they are in trouble because of their policies and their actions. turned off a lot of

people and lost the trust of a lot of people. not all of those people, not even most, have left facebook, but i believe it is fair to say that there is a lot of people who have cut back their use of facebook, even if they have not left it. >> watch that you caters tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. washington journal continues. host: a couple of people braving the cold and washington, d.c. as they head out to the mlk memorial on this holiday for martin luther king jr. day that senator kamala harris from caro -- from california has announced she is going to run for president of united states. this is the hill this morning saying she did that on monday on good morning america. quote, i am running for

president of united states. i'm excited about it. the story running that the senator will use the slogan for the people. she was first elected to the senate in 2016. she is a former california attorney general, saying my entire career has been focused on keeping people safe. when i look at this moment, i know the american people deserve someone who is going to fight for them and put them in front. herla harris declaring interest in becoming president of united states. you can talk about that and other issues as we go to open phones. michael in glen bernie, maryland, democrats line. go ahead. caller: i would like to make a comment to my fellow democrats. 2006, we voted for the secure fence act.

we had senator obama, senator clinton, and senator schumer vote for this. we had then senator obama run for president and he ran on security, border security. 2013, the secure fence act came back up and they voted on it again and there was more money put into it, like $11.7 billion. office, thisas in border security was being put in place, built. my comment is that nobody called -- or acist wary bigot bigot. use ofama authorize the teargas on the southern border, he was not called a nazi. obama was called the reporter in

chief when he deported over -- deporter in chief when he deported illegal immigrants. host: tom, los angeles, republican line. you are on the program. caller: on the affordable housing, i'm a realtor in southern california, in los angeles county, orange county, and ventura county. we have 1,400,000 illegal aliens here. we have a problem with that. it is like a passive invasion. have miss pelosi -- does not want a border. we need a border. we need protection. we do not need sanctuary cities. i just heard senator is going to be running. we do not need senator harris

for theshe is not people of california. we have a high crime rate. we have other social problems. our schools are spending $600 million a year for illegal alien children to educate them. our social services. i want to thank you for your time. have a nice day. dr. king said we are one race, the human race. we need to remember that. host: this is tina, independent line, pittsburgh. you're on. go ahead. caller: i thought i was on the tv. host: you're on television now. caller: basically, i am calling about the shutdown, regarding the shutdown. i do not understand -- i do agree with what is happening

with the democrats about the fact that they should not give him the border wall. i agree with some callers who called in about trump being like a dictator. he says he wants to make the americans safe, but how can he -- he is not even making americans safe here in the united states right now. they are worried about losing their homes. and the fact that they do not have food and medicine. -- iay to solve this is believe that they should remove mitch, senator mcconnell as the majority leader. they do have the power to veto then. president trump could start this and it is not fair to threaten a shutdown every time he does not get something. the second thing i think we should do is if the congress will not handle this, the

senate, i believe the american people should take it in their own hands and have a national strike. host: that is tina in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. is the republican that represents the 23rd congressional district of texas. says don op-ed where he not represent my gop. he says my dad's black and my mom is white. it was not en vogue to be an interracial couple. after my parents moved to san antonio, it took a year for them to find their first home. when my mom would return of my dad, houses would fall off the market. my father would tell my brother and sister and me that this -- they will be shaking his hand and asking him to come back. he believed in himself and taught us to do the same. he said always have a positive mental attitude. a perception exists among some that the gop condones racism.

our party was built upon the beliefs of abraham lincoln, who started a long path to equality. some people affiliated with our party have made racist comments. we can change this perception through action. how's republicans counter -- house republicans, under the leadership of kevin mccarthy, took action to repudiate remarks. the thoughts of a republican congressman who represents the 23rd district. next, from seattle, democrats line. caller: i would like to comment sectionrevious regarding housing. i am a nurse manager for an insurance company that services medicare. i have to tell you the phone calls i've been getting from my members -- they are freaking out

about what their housing status is going to be. my point is i called on behalf mary -- pattyty murray asking them what i could call -- tell my members about how to manage this and i got no response. they could not answer any questions. they said they would call me back with information to pass onto my members on medicare, and i have heard nothing. i am disappointed in the democrats and how they are providing information were not providing information to me so that i can pass on to the folks that are the most marginalized and infirm. it is sad. i did not expect that for my representatives. i find that disgusting. host: for massachusetts, independent line. go ahead. caller: hello.

it is so great to speak to c-span. harrisnting on kamala running for president. she first, my attention -- she first caught my attention during the cavanaugh hearings. she spoke for two or three minutes and her gestures and itnce and her demeanor -- was striking how she resembled michelle obama. i remember -- i thought you might have been hispanic. she does not look african-american. last sunday evening, she was interviewed on book tv. she is a compelling figure. she is incredibly brilliant. she is smart, accomplished, and person.l dispositioned she comes across as authentic and i think she will do well. she can really connect with people.

i am an independent for massachusetts. i've only voted for one democrat in my entire life. i could perhaps be persuaded by her. heard she is for a tax cut for the middle-class only. you do not hear elizabeth warren and kirsten gillibrand talking about these things. kirsten gillibrand was so shrill in her speech to people. she did not impress me. yesterday -- one more thing. she was interviewed i jake tapper on cnn. -- did you see that? host: we mentioned it earlier today. caller: great. in 2008 when she ran forever senate to four new york, -- for representative in the state of new york, she expounded all the things on immigration. she was against immigration,

she is callingay president donald trump a racist for the same exact things she espoused in 2008. host: we mention that at the start. thanks for calling. chris christie making mention of the president and the new book he is set to publish, saying the former republican new jersey governor who served on the president's transition team says the president -- the trump administration hired riffraff instead of experienced strategists. donald needed the right people around him and a startled -- solid structure in place according to an excerpt. often, theyfar too were saddled with riffraff. ex secretaries and advisors, including michael greedy and ofxperienced administrator

the ea -- epa adding that the president had too few steve -- steven mnuchin's. next from pennsylvania, democrats line. caller: my name is israel. be blamingp immigrants coming over here because they know his crimes -- other crimes are being committed by his own race. he is limning other races. that make -- he is blaming other races and that makes him racist. he does not know what to say about government. host: from greg in texas, republican line. say c-span do to not change what you're doing. you're the best people that can get callers' word through.

some of those people calling in, they repeat exactly what rush limbaugh is saying, fox news, and foxbusiness. america sold this country to the highest bidder. every time white america starts losing, they want to start taking stuff back. you cannot take this country back. they are not employing people of color. they employ their own people. go to the source. they are employing their own people, not americans. weck and white people -- have to stop working for companies that did not care about employees. mexicanst outwork because they outbid you on anything you want to do. the only reason the white man is mad at the mexicans is because they came over and started their own business. abusedt tired of being so they beat the white people out of a job and took over the white man company.

host: denise is next from new york, democrats line. caller: i have a comment. professionala person. sometimes i substitute in schools and i'm going to tell you that what is being taught in our schools i do not think our parents are aware of. i have been in classrooms where teachers have talked about the white man in a very negative manner. i've also been in classrooms where african-americans have called other kids don't be white. i think there is such a racial divide in our schools and i do not think it is being addressed. they talk about how we should not bully, but they bully all the time.

ofe -- i do not think a lot people know what is going on and it breaks my heart. i think parents need to take a stand. they need to ask questions of their children and ask them what are they really being taught? i do not think they are really being taught what real american history is. host: that is denise. this is don from florida. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. aboutjust wanting to talk how nancy pelosi is not even wanting to talk with donald trump. i think she needs to go in and saturday with trump on -- with trump. trump on saturday did offer more things to try to break the stalemate. why did she just sit back and not want to discuss anything? it is our way or the highway.

host: when it comes to the president's offer, what you think of what he is offering in terms of getting the government reopened? the 800 -- $800 million for the extra security, $800 million for the different buildings to help process people coming in, that is a drastic billion, over$5.7 half of that is going to other things besides building a wall. the temporary daca provisions are something you agree with? caller: yes. i think everybody should be alone -- i do not think everybody should be allowed in. host: curtis is next from michigan. caller: how are you doing, pedro? host: i am fine. go ahead. caller: thank god for martin luther king.

i'm reading a book by him. read another book by john w. whitehead. about theweek talks fallout from the bus feed article on michael cohen, saying it was one of the journalist who wrote explosive report last week alleging president trump directed his former lawyer, michael cohen to lie to congress. the storydown on after rare pushback for special counsel robert mueller, saying i have further confirmation this is right. we are being told to stand our ground. the journalists who wrote the story said the same sources we used in that story are standing behind it, as are we. this is going to be borne out. this story is accurate. from nebraska, mary is next, democrats line. caller: good morning.

thank you for taking my call. i am calling to talk about the shut down. i find it abominable. i do not agree with anyone who says that nancy pelosi should negotiate while these federal workers are held hostage. we have to start this government back up and we have to start viewing -- stop viewing federal employees as pawns in some game. work.ese people back to end this heartache, this nonsense, and negotiate like adults. if they get their way this time and get what they want, then every time we want something, whichever side it is, things they can shut the government down and hurt these employees and it is awful. host: should the democrats use the president's author as a starting point for negotiation -- offer as a starting point for negotiation? caller: they should did with the -- what they did before. mcconnell had a bill.

he had a duty to send it to the president and override a veto if necessary. he hid it. he is scared of the president. he used federal employees as pawns. start the government back up and negotiate on whatever you want to negotiate on. makes you think negotiations will take place if government started back up? caller: honest to god, that is what they do constantly, all year long as negotiate. we have had bills on the table. you know we have had immigration bills on the table that the president walked away from because they included daca protections and right-wingers did not like it. we cannot use federal employees as pawns. host: let's hear from gail in new jersey, republican line. caller: i have a question. i know kamala harris is orssified as black

african-american, but she is pakistani, isn't she? is that classified as black or white? i always thought what that was considered white -- i always thought that was considered white. host: why does it matter? caller: she is advertising herself as being something she is not. cory int's go to maryland, independent line. caller: a couple of comments. very happy there is an mlk day being celebrated and it is offending to me as an african-american to have your last caller question kamala ,arris's nationality specifically when the rule was in america that if you had 1/12 of black blood you are black. her mother is from indian heritage and her mother is -- her father is black. how she'd finds himself --

herself as her business. yous challenging to me when have non-people of color telling people of color how to classify themselves when they made up the rules many years ago. the third thing is, with regard to the government shutdown, i'm a contractor. because impacted contract for one of the agencies that is not impacted, but my notern is that people do understand how legislation is made, that the legislative branch, the house and the senate, are equal branches with the executive branch. the fact of the matter is mitch mcconnell should have done his job and kept the senate bills on the floor when the house send the bill to the senate. they need to vote up or down. his --rotecting host: let's hear from paul in florida. know, there is dam

and then there is trumped on -- there is dumb and then there is trump dumb. you guys have to remember. this is donald trump's making. this is his life. this is what he does to his businesses. this is what he did to people in that fake college she had. he bankrupted them and walked away. there is no two way street about it. this is trump's making. he is hurting people, businesses and he could not give a dam. when people get up and say both sides are at fault -- no. there is one person at fault and that is donald trump. i cannot believe these people fall for trump dumb to his foolishness. host: that is the last call for this program. we are going to come back with another program at 7:00 tomorrow morning. thank you for watching today on

this martin luther king jr. holiday. we will see you tomorrow. have a good day. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> c-span's camera crews have mallon the national on this martin luther king day at memorial established in his honor. it is a busy day for people to pay their respects. normal temperatures maybe people -- may be keeping people away.

we will hear the latest on brexit with british prime minister theresa may. she is expected to report back to the house of commons outlining a new deal on how the might leave the european union after her first proposal was rejected by historic numbers. our live coverage begins at 10:30 eastern a.m. here on c-span. the federal government has been partially closed for 31 days, longer than any previous shutdown. funding for nine federal departments expired on december 21, including homeland security, treasury, state department, coast guard, and secret service, as lawmakers and the president are at an impasse over border while fending. this weekend, president trump made a proposal. the democrats rejected the proposal. the house and senate are back tomorrow.

pelosi haser nancy indicated she will bring up additional bills to reopen the government this week. we will continue to bring you updates on the c-span networks. california senator kamala harris has entered the presidential race. senator harris made the announcement this morning on "good morning america." and in a video she posted online. she plans to make a more formal announcement sunday in oakland, california, where she will talk about her candidacy. if elected, she would be the first woman, first woman of asian heritage, and first african american woman to be president. >> today at 4:00 on c-span2, discussion on race in america. is oter suppression real. let's just name a couple of states.

florida, georgia, texas, north dakota. today in 2019, we are still dealing with this issue on dr. king's birthday. c-span3 at 8:00 eastern, the 1957 film documents the civil rights rally at the lincoln memorial. we will no longer plead to the federal government for law.ge of a we will bring an end to the perpetrators of violence. >> watch today on martin luther king, jr., day. tonight, the tech journalist

talks about the future of technology and why he quit using facebook. >> i think they are in trouble because of their policies and actions may have turned off a lot of people -- they have turned off a lot of people and lost the trust of a lot of people. those people have left facebook, but i believe there are a lot of people who have cut back their use of facebook even if they have not left it. >> watch tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. with people filtering through, , weof the things open today carry on a conversation on that work, where it stands on race re